The training day opens with the Classic Firearms crew and Eddie Gallagher from GBRS explaining that viewers are seeing the end of a long, hot day due to earlier camera fog issues. Day two builds on the previous day’s pistol work by adding the rifle and focusing on manipulating a long gun around the body while transitioning to a secondary pistol. Eddie describes running “operator standards” cold in the morning and again at the end of the day to measure improvement. The group begins with pistol standards: classic bill drills, broken bill variants, and three-body/two-head strings. Times, penalties, and “mics” are called out as shooters push for speed while maintaining accountability. They then move into a walking standards drill from roughly three to twelve yards, emphasizing consistent cadence, fixing malfunctions on the move, and maintaining control during reloads. This establishes a performance baseline before introducing the rifle.
Instruction shifts to the rifle with a detailed load and make-ready sequence. Students lock the bolt to the rear, insert and seat the magazine, chamber a round, use the forward assist, and close the dust cover. Eddie cautions against habitual press checks, explaining that repeatedly riding the round in and out can increase the chance of light primer strikes. Instead, he recommends tactile chamber checks and a consistent pre-mission routine that always starts by loading the secondary weapon first. The class then refines low ready and high ready positions. The buttstock is placed under the armpit with a slight cant to clear gear, while the muzzle stays aligned with the line of sight. Timed rifle drills follow: single shots from ready, a six-round build drill, three-body/two-head strings, and a one-round combat reload, all run while maintaining a stable stance and efficient presentation through the dominant eye.
Using silhouette targets, the instructors teach anatomy-based aiming to speed up sight acquisition. Shooters are told to initially present the rifle under the head and between the shoulders, then refine to a smaller focal point, with an example hold using an EOTech optic. Sling management and rifle setup are addressed, including avoiding overdriving the buttstock into the shoulder and adjusting stock length for faster, more repeatable presentations. Students are shown how to manage the sling so it supports the gun without binding during transitions. Reload techniques are demonstrated, such as sweeping fingers away from the magwell during a speed load, using a beer can grip with an L-shaped hand, and adding hockey tape or rubber to magazines for better purchase. Timed drills combine chest and head shots, reloads, and rifle-to-pistol transitions while maintaining identical stance, hip alignment, and slight knee bend between rifle and pistol to keep movement efficient as fatigue from suppressors and rifle weight sets in.
The instructors dive deeper into rifle grip and body positioning, emphasizing that the dominant hand should stay relatively relaxed, focused on manipulating the safety and trigger rather than clamping the gun. Hips and upper body are oriented square to the target to build a stable, repeatable platform. Sling setups are compared, with particular attention to a dual-point GBRS sling that can be choked down for patrolling or worn like a necklace for assaults. They explain how a two-point sling better supports real-world tasks such as handling detainees, climbing, fast roping, repelling, medical work, and breaching, especially when paired with body armor so the magazine rests against the plate. Stock length and forward grip are tuned to individual body mechanics using consistent reference points like thumb direction and arm extension. Students are cautioned not to jam the rifle excessively into the shoulder, instead using subtle hip adjustments to maintain comfort and control.
This block focuses on refining the rifle shooting platform. Students adjust grip, thumb position, and shoulder placement while keeping the torso square and avoiding inconsistent bending that can throw off recoil management. The instructors stress establishing a consistent foundational stance and grip first, then making small tweaks to pressure and hand placement to improve comfort and shot-to-shot consistency. Situational awareness is emphasized: during reloads, shooters are taught to break the gun down toward the body, keeping the head up to read the environment and communicate non-verbally with teammates about weapon status. Detailed reload mechanics are covered step by step—recognizing when the gun goes dry, simultaneously breaking it down, actuating the magazine release, letting the empty mag fall, and indexing a fresh magazine using the chosen grip method. The goal is to keep the rifle in a tight workspace that supports both speed and awareness.
Rifle combat reload techniques are broken down into several gripping options: bullets-forward with the index finger as a guide, an “OK” sign grip, and the beer can grip. Regardless of method, students are told to tug-check the magazine before hitting the bolt release to confirm it is seated. Left-handed and right-handed reloads are contrasted, highlighting workspace positioning, sweeping the empty magazine clear, and using the support-hand thumb to quickly hit the bolt release and re-engage. A structured drill is introduced: start with one empty mag in the rifle and a round chambered, fire one round, perform a combat reload, fire three rounds, then bend down to retrieve the empty mag and execute a tactical reload. This is repeated through two full magazines to build muscle memory under fatigue. Instructors stress recognizing the feel of the bolt locking to the rear as the trigger for an immediate speed load, or, if necessary, transitioning to the pistol while the non-dominant hand controls the rifle.
Transition technique is refined with an emphasis on economy of motion. Shooters control the rifle with the non-dominant hand, canting it to the side—especially important for left-handed shooters—so it clears the draw path. The pistol is driven straight toward the threat from a consistent touch point, avoiding inefficient tomahawk or looping motions. As the pistol extends, shooters are coached to acquire the optic and prep the trigger so the shot breaks as the sights settle. Post-engagement assessment is built into the sequence: after firing with the pistol, the shooter briefly brings the rifle back up before holstering to confirm there are no additional threats and to identify what went wrong with the rifle. Only after diagnosing whether it was a bolt lock, malfunction, or other issue do they fully transition back. The segment closes with a brief gear rundown, including a Wilder Tactical Women’s True Form belt, a Glock 49 with Surefire X300, and a Griffin Armament 115 Mark 2 rifle with Dual-Lok 5, underscoring the importance of training with actual duty kit.
The instructor provides a detailed overview of his own kit to contextualize the drills. He runs a Griffin Armament 115 Mark 2 with a Dual-Lok 5 suppressor on an MCX 115 rifle platform, paired with a GT4 pistol equipped with an X300 light, extended magazines, and a Safariland 7377 TS holster. His belt setup includes a Ferro Bison belt with Wilder pouches, typically carrying three pistol magazines, one rifle magazine on the belt, and an extra rifle mag in the dump pouch, along with Axil electronic ear protection. Drawing on his background as a retired SEAL senior chief who ran the ZQC cell, he emphasizes consistent training under fatigue and the importance of proper cadence when learning new techniques. Rifle-to-pistol transitions are revisited, including moving the rifle by grabbing forward and twisting down or grabbing at the magwell, and understanding how slings and straps affect reloads. A timed drill of six controlled body shots followed by faster head shots teaches students to monitor group size, body position, and technique for self-diagnosis.
Students are coached to walk downrange and assess shot groups after each string of fire, using misses to diagnose stance, grip, and body position before running another controlled string. Training is kept realistic at around seven meters: when the rifle runs dry, shooters immediately transition to pistol, fire three chest shots, conduct a mag change, then return to fast but controlled head shots. Discussion centers on how repetitive, fundamental drills with both rifle and pistol create a reliable base for more complex tasks. The instructors note how heat and fatigue degrade grip strength, recoil control, and ready-up positions, forcing shooters to manage high ready, rifle canting, sling tension, and even backward movement more deliberately. Head-box transitions are refined by driving the gun with the eyes, timing the trigger press during the upward movement, and maintaining a consistent five-shot cadence while adjusting speed based on where rounds land around the head box.
This section stresses shooting with both eyes open, particularly when using Aimpoint-style red dots and similar optics. Keeping both eyes open preserves peripheral vision and situational awareness instead of tunnel-visioning through a single eye. Mechanical offset is addressed in detail, reminding shooters to account for height-over-bore differences at close distances to avoid low impacts on small targets. Efficient target transitions are taught by letting the eyes move first so the optic naturally follows, rather than muscling the gun across. A drill has the instructor calling out target numbers while shooters engage in sequence, transitioning to a secondary pistol if the primary rifle goes dry but maintaining the flow of the drill. The segment closes with guidance on rifle muzzle awareness in patrol order, advocating a modified high-ready position that prevents flagging teammates in confined spaces while still allowing an efficient punch-out to the target when a threat appears.
Students run a dry-turn drill starting from either high or low ready. On the beep, they visually acquire the target, orient their body, fire, then assess and return to the original position without sweeping the muzzle across others. The instructor emphasizes stance and balance after turning, ensuring weight is not excessively on the front or back foot so shooters can move left, right, forward, or backward while keeping tight groups. A forward movement drill from the 10- to 3-yard line follows, focusing on maintaining consistent holdover at changing distances and continuing movement through malfunctions while building situational awareness. If the rifle runs dry, shooters transition to pistol without stopping their advance. Safe backward movement is also covered: going toe-to-heel with bent knees, a slight forward lean, and lifting feet to feel for obstacles. While shooting on the move backward is generally avoided, the instructors explain its necessity in structures and law enforcement scenarios before transitioning the class to a more complex running gun course.
The running gun course is laid out with multiple poppers and steel targets that must be engaged from specific positions within marked boundaries, including shots through doorways and windows. Shooters are required to manage rifle-to-pistol transitions and follow strict engagement sequences, reinforcing earlier lessons under pressure. Instructors teach a controlled breathing technique—taking three-quarters of a breath in through the nose and the last quarter through the mouth—to combat fatigue and steady the sights, especially on small plates and plate racks. Coaching focuses on slowing down just enough to get a clean sight picture, waiting for steel to settle, and not becoming flustered by misses or mechanical issues like plates failing to fall. After one run, the shooter immediately chooses to run the course again with a better mental map. The day closes with reflections on the mental challenge of the final plate rack, the impact of cardio and fatigue, and praise for the two-day GBRS course in North Carolina.
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